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His first hope for escape received a setback on the second day. Once it became clear that his detentionone could not call such gentle handling imprisonmentwas to be as pleasant as possible, Ian had assumed that servants would enter to clean the rooms, empty the chamber pot, remove the soiled dishes, and perform other similar tasks. They would wait until he was asleep, Ian reasoned, or come with a strong guard. After a few visits their vigilance would relax. By then Ian was sure his weapons would be ready. He would take them by surprise and escape. However, no servant at all approached the door. It was Sir Peter's squire who brought the dinner and told Ian that he should pass out the pot through a larger opening which he unbolted for that purpose. The manhe was no longer a boygave Ian no opening for threat, pleading, or conversation. Having said his few words, he stood and waited, mouth firmly shut, until the pot came out. He took it, passed in a clean one, rebolted the opening, and hurried away. |
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That hope gone, Ian scoured his brain for another idea. What he came up with was to retreat to the inner chamber and refuse to come out for his food or any other purpose. He was quite certain that would bring someone, likely Sir Peter himself, to investigate. Several days were necessary to prepare for this plan. Ian had to stock food of the type that would not rot, and drink also, from the meals that were sent in. He had no intention of really weakening himself by thirst and starvation. Likely he would need to hold out for several days, because they would suspect a trick at first. Also, he had to finish his work on his weapons. |
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By the end of that week, Ian was ready. He was pleased with his plan, sure it would work. It had occurred to Ian that the reason no servant or man-at-arms was allowed near him was that Sir Peter did not trust his people. It also explained the luxurious confinement. As long as fine meals were carried up and served with ceremony, it would be easy to explain Ian's absence with |
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